EEG caps come in various designs, including helmets, frames, jerseys, and soft hoods, and are used to hold electrodes in place during brain activity studies. The best design depends on the study type and patient needs, and different companies produce caps of different sizes and designs. Soft caps are useful for children and office EEG studies, while other designs are better for specific applications. The physician selects the most appropriate cap for each case.
An electroencephalography (EEG) cap holds the electrodes in place on the head for an EEG study of brain activity. Hood designs can include helmets, frames, jerseys, and soft hoods that stretch to hug the head. The best design depends on the type of study and the needs of the patient. The number of electrodes a doctor uses in the study may also play a role. Numerous companies produce caps of different designs and sizes to meet different studio needs.
Different designs of caps are available for adults, children and infants, usually in a range of sizes to fit different heads. Some caps have built-in electrodes, while others fit over the electrodes to hold them in place. An EEG cap may simply be a network of electrodes and conductive wires that a technician will carefully anchor in place with EEG paste. Others have rigid frames to stabilize electrodes and wires. An EEG helmet holds the electrodes close to the head, but not in direct contact with the scalp.
Soft caps can be useful for office EEG studies and testing of small children who may move during the procedure. They adapt perfectly to the head to keep the electrodes in fixed positions, even when the patient moves his head or is engaged in physical activity. They can also be more discreet than other cap designs, as the patient may be able to cover the EEG cap with a hat or scarf to make it less noticeable. This can be a problem with outpatient EEG studies, where patients don’t want attention.
EEG cap designs can also vary for different applications. Some hoods are designed for tasks such as biofeedback studies, where a small number of electrodes may suffice and the hood might take the form of a helmet to quickly collect general data. For epilepsy studies where a clinician needs to be able to isolate activity to a very specific region of the brain, multiple electrodes are needed that are in direct contact with the scalp, and this requires a different cap design.
A physician usually selects the most appropriate EEG cap for use in a given case. Patients may encounter different designs during medical studies involving the brain. Sometimes physician or researcher preference is the deciding factor in whether to use the EEG cap, while in other cases a specific cap may be needed because it is part of the study guidelines or diagnostic protocol.
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